The Rose has Thorns
by Indie Mittens
Summary: Red X has had his eyes on Raven for a while now, and he's decided it's time she knew. Will Raven realize her feelings for X, or will she become lost in the tangle of her jealous leader, her disturbed demonic past, and her past heartbreak? Red-X is undeterred, undefeated, and... understanding? He will stop at nothing to claim his desire. T for language
1. Chapter 1: The Unwanted Guest

**Hey guys. I haven't written in a while, but a slew of Raven/Red-X stories have been mulling inside my head for a while now, so I've decided to start writing some of them. It's a short first chapter, I know, but I'm working my way up. As always, comments, critiques, and unduly lavish praise is always appreciated! **

Inside a small and cozy teashop in one of the older districts of Jump City, a slender-framed girl sits alone at a table, tucked away in her own private corner. The warm glow of the café illuminates her pale skin, and the cup of jasmine tea set before her is growing cold. Her nose is buried in a book, deep amethyst eyes devouring the suspense novel she had picked up earlier that day. Wishing to avoid unnecessary attention, the Titan had opted for civilian garb today, donning a navy blue sweatshirt— hood up, of course— and black jeans. Raven's long, dark hair brushed across her face as she bowed her head forward to better read the gripping book, her lips slowly growing into a small, pleasured smile as she reached the best part—

_Gelert raised the candle slowly, his hand trembling as the light spilled over the room and revealed the desecrated corpse of his lost—_

"Gee, Sunshine, I don't think I've ever seen you smile before," drawled a cocky voice. A body plunked itself down in the chair opposite from the sorceress.

Raven snapped her head up, scowling fiercely at the idiot who had so blatantly disturbed her reading. He was tall and lithe, with leanly defined muscles and lightly tanned skin. Windswept black hair framed his grey eyes, which seemed to turn to a light green around the pupils. Raven wanted to throw him out of the chair and punch his nose in.

"Now that's more like it. Your frown lines are like dimples, ya know that?" The obnoxious boy flashed her a charming half-smile and winked.

"Go. Away." Raven hissed through clenched teeth, black energy crackling up angrily inside of her.

"I just thought I'd be a gentlemen and offer a lonely damsel some delightful company."

"If I was lonely, I'd talk to a spoon before I talked to you. Now leave before I send you to another dimension," she snarled back at him, slamming her book shut with unnecessary force.

Raven hated jerks like this, messing with her, yanking her chain. Trying to push the right buttons to make her lose control, to make a nasty scene in a public. Raven rolled her eyes to herself, thinking about the probable headlines in the papers.

_Teen Titan Explodes Building, Sends 15 Innocents to 7__th__ Depth of Hell_

_Titans East Called to Take Out a Titan West_

_Titan Euthanized After Obliterating City Block_

"Well, I can see you're already lost in your thoughts again," His voice interrupted her musings, and she returned her biting glare to him.

"I guess I'll leave you to it then. It was a pleasure, little bird."

He pushed back from the table and his mouth quirked into another half-smile as he looked at her. He turned away and made his way back through the teashop, toward the glass door that was frosted with ice. Raven irately watched him as he went, and at the last moment she sent a small coil of black energy across the room, wrapping it around his left ankle. She yanked and he stumbled, pitching forward toward the floor before managing to throw out his hands and steady himself on the doorframe. He straightened up and brushed himself off, casting a wry glance back in the sorceress' direction, but Raven had already buried her nose back in her book again, a small smile playing across her lips.

_That'll show him, _she thought.


	2. Chapter 2: Advice

Raven sat on the roof of the Titan Tower, legs folded in lotus position, overlooking the city as it gracefully descended into the winter twilight. She gazed out across the still water that surrounded their island, toward the bright lights of the soaring buildings that lit the skyline like twinkling Christmas bulbs. Despite the air being sharp and bitterly cold, Raven did not mind, relishing the feeling of crispness as her breath exhaled in a steaming cloud.

She positioned her hands on her knees and closed her eyes, readying herself to enter a meditative trance; however, a nagging memory from earlier that day kept distracting her, buzzing around her mind like an insistent fly.

The encounter she had experienced with the annoying civilian had been harmless enough, certainly. Raven acknowledged and accepted the fact that as the least popular Titan, she was more likely to be harassed and jeered at by the public, rather than adored and admired the way her peers were. No, it wasn't his teasing that bothered her so much—rather, it was his demeanor, the way he spoke, the manner in which he carried himself. It was all eerily… _familiar_. So much so that Raven could not shake the feeling that she knew the boy from somewhere else, despite having only met him that afternoon.

_Focus, Raven, _she chided herself. _Don't get wrapped up in a useless pursuit._

The half-demon took a deep breath and collected her thoughts, bringing her center of focus into balance. She began to rhythmically chant her mantra.

"_Azarath Metrion Zinthos… Azarath Metrion Zinthos…"_

Raven suddenly stopped, sensing footsteps behind her. Without turning around, she knew it was Robin; After he had saved her from Trigon, their bond had become stronger than ever. Despite this, or perhaps because of this, Raven worked increasingly harder to maintain their mental barriers and protect her mind from his. No matter how well her leader might have known her, she wanted her mind free from intrusion, free to be private.

"What?" she deadpanned, eyes still closed and body stilled folded into her meditative position.

"I… I wanted to talk," Robin said tentatively, a gloved hand rubbing the back of his neck.

Raven opened an eye and looked at him irritably. "Now? Can't it wait?"

"I'd really rather it didn't," Robin sighed.

Raven nodded, and he moved to sit down next to her on the edge of the roof.

"So what's going on?" she asked, glancing at him from the side of her hood.

Robin stared out toward the city for a moment before responding.

"I guess I wanted to ask you for advice. About Starfire."

Raven sighed.

"Look, Robin, I'm not going to explain the birds and the bees to you, they've got books for that now—"

"God, no! It's not that at all. It's… well… I don't know what to do."

Raven waited silently for him to go on.

"Starfire and I get along really well, you know, and she's sweet, and kind, and beautiful… but God, Raven, as much as I love her, being with her feels like I'm with a child. Almost like I'm babysitting!" Robin finally burst out. He took a breath before continuing.

"And, I'm just not really sure whether this is something that will pass, a phase we'll overcome… or if it's not the right fit. If we should end it."

The darker titan stayed quiet for a moment, mulling it over in her head. Privately, she preferred not to be involved in her teammates' tangled love lives, but as a loyal friend she wouldn't deny one of them the support they sought.

Raven finally spoke, surveying the masked boy next to her with steady, unreadable eyes.

"I think you should ask yourself three things, Robin. First, are you completely happy when you're with her? Do you ever wish you were someplace else when you're together? And finally, if her… childlike manner… didn't dissipate, would you still see yourself with her, years from now?"

Robin ran his hands through his spiked hair in an agitated manner, soaking in what she was saying.

"You're right…" he trailed off. "I guess I'm going to turn in for tonight and think this one through. Thanks for listening Raven. I appreciate it."

"You're welcome," she murmured, before turning back toward the bay and resuming her meditation.

X

X

**Our favorite villain to make an appearance in the next chapter! :O Let the wooing begin!**


	3. Chapter 3: Enter Red-X

It was a lazy Wednesday in Titan Tower, with bodies sprawled everywhere across the living room couch, each pursuing their own pleasure. Beastboy was flipping through a comic book about a man with a steel stomach who could eat battery acid, and Raven was curled up against the armrest, sipping a mug of tea and watching snowflakes through the window as they lazily spiraled to the ground. Cyborg was working on an upgrade for the television, in an attempt to outstrip the Titan's East expensive new 3-D system ("Wait till those losers see hi-def movies in _4-D_!"), and Starfire was humming cheerfully to herself, busily flying around their large Christmas tree ("The glorious plant of knick-knacks!") and hanging all manner of items on its branches, from Beastboy's old socks to tufts of cat hair. Even Robin had managed to unwind a little bit, stretching his arms back behind his head and contenting himself with observing his teammates' activities.

BLEEP! BLEEP! BLEEP!

The relaxing morning came to an abrupt halt as the alarm went off, blaring loudly and red light pulsing throughout the tower. Robin immediately jumped up, burning like a live wire, and ran over to the holo-screen to scan the information on the perpetrator and their location.

His fists instinctually clenched tight and his eyes narrowed when he saw the screen.

"It's Red-X," he told them through gritted teeth. "He's in the Jump City vault."

"Well then let's go pummel his butt!" Cy cried, punching his fist into his hand.

"Titans, GO!" their leader hollered, and the five superheroes moved into action, swiftly heading toward the scene of the crime.

xxxxxx

"Well, well. I'm touched, Bird Brain. You coming all the way out here, just for little old me?" the synthesized voice taunted the titan's leader from behind the mask.

"Can it, X, and hand over what you stole! I just might spare you the injuries," Robin spat back, unsheathing his bo staff and bending his knees, ready to pounce.

The other titans assumed their fighting positions, warily watching Red-X, waiting to strike at Robin's signal.

A metallic chuckle filled the vault, and the thief shook his head pityingly. "Last time I checked the score, Grass Stain, you were still at zero."

Robin let out a roar and charged, furious at being goaded by the arrogant criminal. He brought his staff down swiftly, aiming for X's head, but the masked villain merely back flipped out of harm's way, retaliating with a sticky red x that slammed into Robin and glued him against the back wall. The hero struggled vainly against it, shouting strings of profanity, but the glue held tight. The other titans had begun their assault meanwhile, and Starfire flew toward Red-X, eyes and hands blazing green. X caught her by the ankle and swung her body down, sending her crashing to the floor where she lay still.

"You wanna play rough, huh?" Cyborg called, powering up his cannon for a staggering shot. The blue electricity shot out, illuminating the room in a aqua-tinged glow, but X had disappeared from where he had been standing seconds before. Cyborg's eyes widened as he realized too late his mistake. Red-X materialized behind him.

"I can play gentle too," the thief murmured as he slapped an x over Cy's main hard drive, causing the half-robot to shut down and collapse.

Beastboy had morphed into a thickly muscled rhinoceros, and he tossed his head in anger before lowering his horns at his target's chest and charging forward at a thundering pace. The criminal tossed three razor sharp x's at his opponent, and they sliced through the tough, leathery skin of the beast.

BB reared back in pain, and Red-X took the moment to debilitate the changeling by aiming a sticky x at his eyes, gluing his eyelids down. Beastboy dropped to the ground, howling and rolling as he desperately tried to pull the mess off of his face.

That left just one. The empath.

Raven could feel a smirk radiating from beneath the mask of the thief, and she wrapped her black energy around a massive filing cabinet and hurled it toward Red-X.

"Come on now Sunshine, I thought you'd at least try for me," he taunted as he dodged the attack, sending jagged projectiles her way. She blocked them with a shield of hardened black energy, and then pushed the hardened mass of energy toward X, pressing him against a wall. If she had her way, she'd squeeze him to death right here. X seemed to plan otherwise however, for he reached down and activated his teleportation belt, landing a few feet away, safely breathing again.

Without a backward glance he took off running, heading up the fire escape stairs toward the roof. Raven followed, chasing on his heels. He tossed a razor x behind him and Raven threw herself against the wall, feeling the tips of its points graze her stomach as it narrowly flew past her. Small lines of blood appeared where the projectile had broken her skin, but it was merely a scratch as far as she was concerned. She had wasted a few precious seconds and X was getting further away, so without thinking the sorceress threw herself up the last flight of stairs and burst through the fire exit, onto the roof. Red-X was pounding the pavement farther ahead, about to make the leap to the next building's roof. Raven reached out her hand and sent a whip of energy toward the thief, lashing it around his waist and throwing him back toward her.

X fell to the ground and rolled. Raven used the moment to pin his hands and feet down with her magic. He struggled for a minute against the bonds, trying to find weak spots, but upon finding none he settled for irritating the empath.

"Hey, Princess, if you wanted to dominate me, all you had to do was ask," he chuckled brazenly.

Raven's eyes flamed and she balled her fists, ready to strangle the smug, insufferable jerk. Instead, she whiplashed Red-X across his face with her black energy, leaving his cheeks stinging even through his mask. She walked toward him, looking down at where he lay pinned.

"_Don't_ call me Princess. It makes you sound desperate," she spat at him.

Red-X took advantage of her proximity to him, kicking out with his steel-toed boots, and successfully managed a crunching, painful hit to Raven's shin. She cursed as she fell on the injured leg, and as her concentration was broken, X freed himself from the weakened bonds. Before she could move away, he pulled out an x and slapped it on her forehead, disabling her powers.

It didn't disable Raven's desire to fight however— snarling, she launched herself at X, ready to claw at him with tooth and nail. They rolled across the concrete, struggling to gain the upper hand. Raven landed a powerful punch to X's face, fracturing his mask. A surge of fear went through X, and he forcefully pushed the petite girl off of him, sending her flying backward. Her head connected to the concrete with a sickening _crack _and she lay motionless.

Raven tried to clear her vision as black crept in from the corners, her chest rapidly rising and falling as she breathed. Without her powers to heal herself, she spiraled farther into darkness. She thought she could hear someone calling her name over and over again, and she knew she had begun hallucinating when she saw the mask of Red-X loom into her vision, his hands reaching out to cradle her bleeding head. In her last moments of consciousness she tried to send a call of help to Robin through their bond, but her mind had already grown heavy and muddled, and all she could do was slip into blackness.

X

X

**Wooooo. I hope you guys like it so far. :)**


	4. Chapter 4: The Celtic Cross

**Red-X Pov**

The second he heard the sickening sound of her head connecting with the concrete roof, Red-X's stomach dropped and he lurched to his feet, running to the crumpled form.

"Shit, I'm sorry Raven. Raven? Raven, can you hear me?" There was a tinge of desperation in his voice, even synthesized, and Red-X held her head in his hands, trying to relieve some of the pressure from the wound. He watched as her eyes became unfocused, and the lids proceeded to close heavily.

Pounding footsteps could be heard clanging against the metal stairway within the building, and X jerked his head around his shoulder, knowing the Teen Titans would emerge onto the roof at any moment. Hurriedly he gathered up the small empath in his arms, and holding her close against him, pressed a button on his belt, dissipating into thin air.

**Raven POV**

Raven struggled to open her eyes, fighting against the leaden feeling in her body and the waves of nausea that washed over her. She tried pulling herself into a sitting position and the room started spinning in dizzying circles, colors of dark blue and black blurring together like an out-of-control carnival ride. The empath squeeze her eyes shut again and dropped her head back against the pillow, waiting for it to pass.

_Well, at least I know I'm in my room, _she thought to herself.

As she lay there, taking slow, deep breaths, Raven became aware of something touching the back of her hand. She reached toward it, finding a slip of paper in her hands. Unfolding it, she brought it close to her face to read the hasty scrawl.

_Sorry about that Princess. Won't happen again._

_P.S. I borrowed your book on Azarathian technology. _

Raven's brow furrowed, feeling a surge of annoyance that one of her books had been taken— without her permission no less! Raven let the note drop out of her hand, but there was a sudden, sharp intake of breath when she saw, lying next to her arm, a sparkling sapphire and emerald necklace, set into the pattern of a Celtic cross. She picked it up slowly, examining the jewels that reflected what little light her room offered.

_This must be what Red-X had stolen_, Raven realized, transfixed by the priceless treasure.

She could not understand why he had relinquished it. Surely the thief was not so careless as to leave his goods lying about?

Raven padded to her window overlooking the bay, gripping the necklace in her hand. She didn't fancy walking over to Robin's room and explaining exactly how she had come into possession of the jewels. Frankly, the thought that the thief had been in her room disturbed her enough. Nevermind Boy Wonder's assured increase in manic obsession over the shadowy criminal. No, Raven decided she would go herself to return the necklace to the vault anonymously. No reason to cause Robin any more paranoia.

xxx

After returning the necklace to the City Vault, Raven could feel the beginnings of a raging headache coming on. Twice she had to stop flying and land, holding her throbbing head for minutes at a time while she regained her sense of balance.

As she reached the walls of the Titan Tower, she phased through the floors before collapsing on her bed and drifting into fitful dreams, where a dark intruder kept hitting her on the back of the head, nursing her well, and then hitting her all over again.

xxx

The door slid open with a hiss and the silhouette of drooping spiked hair walked into the shadowed room.

"Wha—RAVEN!"

Raven jolted up, startled out of nightmarish dreams that lingered in the back of her mind. She stared at the doorway wide-eyed, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the darkness.

"What… Robin? What are you doing in here?" Raven muttered, her confusion quickly changing to annoyance.

"This is my room! What the hell happened Rae? We've been searching for you for hours! We just called it off minutes ago, and I come back to my room to find you sleeping here, safe and sound." Robin's voice became increasingly furious as he spoke.

Raven held up her hand to stop him, her hood dropping back and her long hair spilling over her shoulders.

"I was knocked unconscious while fighting with X, Robin. I don't know what happened after that. I woke up…here," Raven explained, carefully leaving out the part about the note and necklace she had discovered in her own room.

Robin seemed unconvinced by her simplistic account, despite it being more or less the truth.

"Are you sure Raven?" he pressed, coming over to sit on the edge of the bed. Raven could feel him pushing at their mental bond, trying to sense her emotions and thoughts.

"Yes," she stated firmly, staring hard into his masked eyes and slamming the barrier back against him. Robin looked at her for a moment.

"Alright," he finally relented, sighing. "Are you still hurt? Do you need additional medical attention in the infirmary?"

Raven shook her head, before realizing how bad of an idea that was. She groaned, clutching her spinning head.

"I'm fine. My head is just bothering me a little. It'll be gone soon enough."

Robin watched her, concern etched across his handsome face. He grabbed her hand in his own and held it tight, leaning closer toward her till their faces were inches apart. This time he pressed more gently, more subtly, against the barrier.

"I'm here for you Raven, if you ever want to talk…" he murmured.

Raven couldn't look at him. She stared at the assortment of lethal weapons hanging on his wall, then glanced swiftly at his masked eyes before looking away again.

"I know..." she whispered. The pressure was suffocating.

Abruptly she stood up, curtly removing her hand from Robin's.

"Sorry for intruding in your room. I must have been really out of it. Goodnight, Robin."

Raven swiftly walked out her leader's room, shoulders rigid and hood back up around her head.

The Boy Wonder watched her leave, chewing on the inside of cheek, an anxious habit he had cultivated during the sleepless nights unraveling Slade.

"Goodnight, Raven," he muttered to her retreating form.

x

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**Hey guys! Thanks for the feedback so far, and I really hope you'll consider giving more. What did you like, didn't like? Always love to hear from other people. Thanks for reading.**


	5. Chapter 5: New Year's Eve

It was New Year's Eve.

The Titans East had to come to Jump City to ring in the New Year, and the party in the Tower living room was going strong into the night, pulsing with heavy bass and flashing strobe lights. Far below her, Raven could hear superheroes toasting, and hoots and cheers from a break dance competition between Beastboy and Speedy.

She sat on the roof, legs crossed, feeling the chilled wind whip through her loose hair.

Raven had initially made an appearance at the party, attempting to smile and say hello to some of their guests. She had managed for a few draining hours, standing in her corner, watching the revelers from a disinterested distance. Someone had dared to approach her and asked to dance, but she had declined, giving the poor soul a blunt "No".

Eventually though, all the high-running emotions and celebration left her feeling mentally exhausted, and she made a silent exit to head to her quiet sanctuary up here on the roof.

_A new year,_ Raven thought to herself_. _

_Another year gone, and here the world is. The lights still sparkle, Beastboy still smells, and the earth has kept on turning. _

She smiled slightly to herself. _That's not too bad, all things considered. I can only hope the year to come will be the same. Maybe even enough for me to leave the nightmare of my past behind._

An unwelcome metallic voice cut into her thoughts.

"Hey there, kid. Party too wild for you?"

Raven spun around, caught off guard. She backed up, raising her hands in front of her defensively, dark magic rippling around them.

"Woah, woah. Hold up," Red-X cautioned, holding up his own hands in a surrendering movement. "I didn't come here to fight."

"Then what did you come for?" Raven demanded harshly, hands still raised and ready to deflect an attack.

Red-X gave a light chuckle, but he didn't seem to be laughing at her. "I just wanted to talk."

Now it was Raven's turn to snort. "Yeah, right. And I want to throw myself off this building into the freezing water below."

Despite his mask, the sorceress could sense the thief raise an eyebrow. "You really do, huh?"

Raven rolled her eyes. "No, but if you don't leave I might."

Now she could sense him smile.

"Now, I wouldn't want you to do that. I think Bird Brain would crucify me to the side of this Tower if you did."

Raven couldn't help chuckling slightly at that, at the truth in his statement.

"Well look at that!" Red-X declared, smirking at her. "The dark birdie can actually laugh!"

He shook his head to himself. "This is turning out to be quite a night of firsts."

Raven scowled back at him. "I can laugh. Just not with insufferable kleptomaniacs."

Red-X laughed, taking a few steps toward her. Without realizing it, Raven had lowered her hands, dark energy no longer sparking out. She had begun to relax, feeling less apprehensive as each moment passed.

"So, Raven," Red-X said her name seriously, and Raven realized with a sudden jolt that he had turned his synthesizer off, allowing a husky, warm voice to replace it. He drew closer, standing two feet away from her. The change in voice caused Raven's heartbeat to leap into her throat, leaving her speechless for a moment.

"What I wanted to talk about was you."

How could that smooth, reassuring voice actually belong to Red-X? It didn't make sense.

Raven opened her mouth, tried to say something along the lines of "What about me?" but nothing came out. Red-X continued speaking.

"I came to tell you that I respect you as the strongest of the titans. I came to tell you I admire your stubbornness, that your intelligence is enviable, and that I'm convinced I've never met anyone more beautiful than you. And I'm sorry I hit you so hard, weeks ago."

Before Raven could move a muscle to respond, Red-X pulled off his mask and grabbed Raven's chin, pulling her closer. Raven was staring into grey-green eyes before soft lips pressed against hers, caressing her mouth in a way she never thought possible.

The thought to fight it never crossed her mind as he kissed her so sweetly. All thought left her mind entirely, and she only felt a warm bliss rushing throughout her.

A crimson red blush spread across her cheeks like wildfire, and her whole body had become unseasonably warm in the biting winter air. The thief pulled back, a half-tender, half-triumphant look in his eyes as he saw her red face. He gave her his signature half-smile before backing away, preparing to make his exit off the roof. His eyes sparkled merrily.

"Happy New Year, Sunshine".

**Guys, reviews feed this happy little soul of mine. So be nice and share your feelings if you read this. :D Also, although I do have a fairly well-roughed out plot in my mind, if anyone has any potential scenarios they want to see Raven/Red X in, I'll consider incorporating them into the story.**


	6. Chapter 6: Sleepless Night

The slender empath lay flat on her back, staring motionless her bedroom ceiling, lost in deep thought. Her mind swirled in a fog of confused emotions, conflicting principles, and unsure intentions. Every time she tried to grasp at a thread of understanding, tried to follow it to its end, she always ended up tangling into more knots.

After the unexpected visit on the roof two weeks ago, Raven's initial reaction had been shock when it dawned on her why the guy from the teashop had been so familiar. Looking back on it now, she kicked herself for her stupidity, for not recognizing how glaringly obvious he had been.

Who else would openly approach her with demeaning pet names and an overly inflated ego?

But the realization that it had been Red X who had sat with her that afternoon in the café only added to her churning confusion. Why had he bothered to taunt her the day they had both been off duty? Simply for the enjoyment of harassing a titan? Raven imagined the thief had better things to do than hang around in a tiny tea store, waiting for heroes to come his way.

These small questions were quickly overwhelmed by the bigger, more crashing ones.

_Why had he said those things?_

_Why had he kissed her?_

_What was he playing at?_

Raven seriously doubted he genuinely meant the things he had said that night. At least she told herself this, because it made more sense in her mind. However, the emotions rolling off him that night told her otherwise. Told her each word was sincere.

She shook her head, as if to dislodge the notion from her brain.

_No,_ she thought_. He's a thief and an enemy of the Titans. He's working some angle. Either messing with me, trying to get inside my head, or trying to get something from the Teen Titans. Maybe a gadget of some sort. Or access to Robin's information files._

Raven scowled. _I won't let him get that far next time. I'm a Teen Titan, not a pathetic, slobbering fan girl. I'm not going to let him manipulate and use me._

Her heart clenched painfully as a memory of Malchior resurfaced, and Raven attempted to push it down, shut it out. Unsuccessful, an image rose in her mind—his arms wrapped around her, his whisper in her ear, that feeling of safety and understanding that came with being around him—

_No, stop it!_ Raven roared to her mind, clutching her knees to her chest.

She stayed that way for a while, trying to empty her head completely.

Azarath… Metrion… Azarath… Azara—

_Raven, you're the best thing that's happened to me in a thousand years…_ the ghost of Malchior's voice seemed to whisper to her.

Raven squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block the memories.

_Never again,_ she promised herself vehemently.

_Never again will I fall for someone. Never again will I let myself be hurt, let myself be lead blindly into a lie. _

Raven spent the rest of the evening in her room, lapsing in and out of sleep that left her twisted up in the sheets. At about two in the morning she awoke, feeling her stomach growl hungrily, and slipped out of her room. Quietly she walked down the hall, heading toward the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea and scavenge for some food. When she entered the kitchen, she was surprised to see the light on. Cyborg was up, waiting for a hotdog to warm up in the microwave.

"You're still awake?" Raven asked him as she pulled down her kettle and began boiling water.

Cyborg nodded. "Yeah, I just finished working on a project of mine and I've got the munchies. How've you been? We haven't seen you all day."

Raven pulled herself up onto the counter, her feet dangling against the cool stainless steel cabinets.

"I've been…fine," she lied, staring at the steaming kettle.

Cyborg studied her thoughtfully.

"C'mon Rae. That's a load of bull and you know it."

Raven exhaled, looking up at her surrogate big brother.

"I've been having nightmares," she confessed. "Bad memories. They just... make it hard to sleep."

Cy nodded, reaching up to pull his plate out of the microwave.

"Have you talked to Robin about it?" he asked, chewing his hotdog vigorously.

Raven looked at him sharply.

"Why would I do that?"

Cyborg finished his snack and shrugged, brushing crumbs off his hands.

"Seems to me Robin would want to know if you were having nightmares and bad memories resurfacing."

"Robin doesn't need to know every damn thing," Raven snapped, and instantly regretted it.

"I'm sorry Cy," she apologized. "I don't mean to turn on you, it's just…"

Cyborg put up his hands to stop her, a look of understanding on his face. "I know, I know. The lack of sleep."

Raven offered him a small, appreciative smile.

"Do you want to come help me work on my latest and greatest toy?" he asked her.

Raven brightened up a little at the prospect of some caring company.

"Sure, Cy," she said, sliding down from her perch and smiling as she followed him to the garage.

xxx

Raven returned to her room at five that morning, stretching and yawning as she stumbled back from the garage. She stopped in her tracks when she reached her bed.

A book had been placed on top of the sheets.

_A Comprehensive Guide to Ancient Azarathian Technology_

Raven picked it up and carried it over to her bookshelf, sliding it in to its proper place.

She fell back on her bed and closed her eyes, not seeing the flash of black and red material that swirled past her window.

X

X

**Gotta love Cyborg. What a bro. Hoped you guys enjoyed!**


	7. Chapter 7:I'd Rather Be In Jump With You

Beastboy jumped up and down on the couch, waving a brightly-colored letter in his hands.

"Dudes! Titans East has invited us to the annual Titan Reunion! Titans North and South are gonna be there too! Listen, it says

_The Teen Titans East would like to cordially invite Starfire, Robin, Beastboy and Cyborg to the Reunion, this February 5th. There will be sweet tunes, free food, and lots of babes. Hope you can make it! Sincerely yours, Speedy_."

Starfire clapped her hands delightedly, her face glowing with excitement.

"Oh, wonderful!" She cried. "I shall get to see our dear friends and partake in the kissing of the turning bottle!"

Robin cracked his knuckles menacingly. "And I've got a score to settle with Speedy over who's the most agile. Which is a ridiculous thing to even argue about, as I obviously possess superior honed skills which compared to his are—"

"Boo-yah! There's gonna be a pool and all you can eat burgers! Man oh man, they make some good burgers in Steel City." Cyborg said blissfully.

Raven noticed the absence of her name from the invitation Beastboy had been reading from.

"Beastboy, was my name on that letter?"

"Uh… nope, Raven... your name's not on here."

"It was probably an oversight on their part—" Robin stepped in to do damage control.

"Nah, dude, they just think she's weird and creepy and it makes everyone uncomfortable," Beastboy interrupted him honestly.

There was an awkward silence and everyone looked anywhere but at Raven. Her face was unreadable, as emotionless as always.

Inside her, rage and sadness conflicted, one pounding on the walls of her chest while the other curled up in a sniveling ball.

"It's fine," Raven said to them. "Someone needs to stay here in Jump and keep an eye on things."

"Raven, I'm sure they would really miss you if you weren't there—you can come with us—" Robin attempted cautiously, stepping toward her.

Raven cut him off. "No, really. I don't do parties. I'd rather stay here." It was true, but it still stung that she was considered an exclusion at Titan events.

"But friend, it will not be the same without—" Starfire spoke.

"C'mon guys, don't push it," Cyborg muttered. "Let her do what she wants."

Raven forced a smile for them. "You guys have fun," she attempted to inject cheerfully.

Starfire flew over and hugged her friend tightly, expressing her joy at the "resolving of conflicts".

xxxx

"Evening, Bluebird."

Raven made no move to turn around, looking out toward the setting horizon.

"X," she acknowledged in her monotone.

"What?" He asked in mock surprise. "No running to fling your arms around me, no adoring kisses to shower me with?"

"Don't you have a museum you should be robbing right now?" She quipped sardonically.

"That's not scheduled till later tonight. I have some time to kill," X responded.

"Go kill it elsewhere."

"Bad day, huh?" he clucked reproachfully.

Raven glowered at him. "I don't know how much of an idiot you take me for, but whatever you think you can get out of me, forget it."

Red-X bowed his head for a moment, as if crestfallen.

"Damn… so I won't ever be able to have Starfire's recipe for Mustard Pudding?"

"I'll give it to you right now. Take two gallons of mustard, add a bottle of wasabi, and inject directly into your veins. Now get lost."

"Geez Princess, what's eating you?"

Raven remained silent.

To her surprise, X sat himself down, leaning back into a comfortable position.

"That's fine, I can wait," he said loftily.

A few minutes passed like that, neither speaking. The silence filled in around them like a shared possession.

"Where's the rest of the dope squad?" Red-X suddenly asked, his voice synthesizer turned off.

"At a party in Steel City," Raven said softly, unsure why she bothered answering.

"And you were left here?"

"Obviously."

A sense of understanding settled on Red-X's shoulders. He got up, walking over to where Raven stood statue-still.

"I'd rather be in Jump here with you than at a stupid super-ego party in Steel," He told her quietly.

The familiar feeling of clenching fear and nausea returned.

_Stop it before you become sucked into the same trap again. _

"You need to leave, X," she said flatly. "Go commit a crime. I don't care. Just… stop trying to do what you're doing."

Red-X looked at her for a moment, and the sorceress almost thought she could detect a touch of sadness radiating off of him.

"Alright Raven," he murmured, stepping back. "I guess I'll see you later then. When I rob that museum, I mean."

Raven didn't reply, turning her head away from him.

Red-X didn't rob any museums that night. He spent it sitting at end of the pier, contemplating the black waves that lapped against the shore of the distant island where a dark little bird lived.

X

X

**Ah, the aches of spurned love. Poor X! ;_; Thank you for all the kind reviews! I really appreciate it.**


	8. Chapter 8: Backstreet Fight

A thick sense of discomfort lay heavily on the Titan Tower.

Starfire and Robin had been arguing all week, leaving a trail of cracked tables in their wake. The Boy Wonder had the hazardous tendency of slamming his fist down on nearby objects when he became very agitated.  
The latest row between the at-odds lovers was taking place in Starfire's room— an attempt at shielding their teammates from the dispute. The door however was no match for the Tamaranean and masked hero's raised voices, and the shouting reverberated into the living room.

Beastboy sat rigidly, his teeth on edge, mashing down the increase volume button as he stared fixedly at the television. A French chef was explaining the proper way to skin and butcher a pig.

"It's _not_ that way Star, I swear—!"

Cyborg walked into the kitchen, turning on the microwave and dishwasher. He began slamming the fridge door open and shut, open and shut.

"I have spoken to friend Bumblebee and she has explained to me that the most common reason for a man to abandon his—"

Raven created a sphere of black energy around herself to try and block out the noise.

"Nobody's being abandoned Star, this just isn't working—"

There was a shattering crash from the alien's room and the three neutral titans jumped, their nerves frayed.

Raven got up, twitching a little, and walked back to her room. She emerged seconds later in street clothes.

"I'm going out," she muttered, pulling her hoodie up around her head.

"I'm going too!" Beastboy yelped, tumbling off the side of the couch in his rush to leave.

Raven frowned for a moment, then relented. She couldn't blame the changeling for wanting to get out; the feelings inside the tower were nuclear. Beastboy grabbed his own jacket before jogging to catch up to the dark girl, who was waiting in the elevator.

xxxx

They walked in to town together, and for once the sorceress didn't mind the green boy's dumb jokes and outlandish storytelling. It was a welcome change from the bickering and terse conversations that had been common in the Titan Tower lately, and she listened patiently as BB detailed his highly unlikely escapades from dangerous villains.

"So that's when I karate-kicked Mad Mod in the face, and he dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes and started begging me to have mercy…" Beastboy explained, waving his hands around for dramatic emphasis.

Raven rolled her eyes, but internally was amused by the antics. The empath realized how glad she was that she had as upbeat and easygoing a friend as Beastboy— not that she would ever tell him that.

At the corner of Main Street they turned left, and Raven pushed the door open to her favorite bookstore. A bell tinkled somewhere deep in the store, and immense, dusty shelves rose up before them, crammed with books. Beastboy wrinkled his nose and sneezed, rubbing his watering eyes irritably.

"Hey, Rae," he called. "This isn't exactly my idea of a good time."

Raven had already walked back toward the suspense section of the shop, and spotting a novel she had not yet read, picked it up and began to scan the first chapter. She waved to Beastboy to not disturb her, but he hunkered over, coming up behind her shoulder.

"What's that you've got? Is it funny? Is it a comic book? Does this place even _sell_ comic books?" Beastboy looked around scrutinizingly, as if scandalized that a store might not sell comics.

Raven was far too engrossed to respond, becoming more enraptured by the moment. Beastboy heaved a sigh, knowing from past experience that it was a fruitless mission to recall his friend once she had become entangled in the depths of a book.

"I think I'm gonna head over to the arcade down the street," the changeling told her. "We can meet back up there when you get done…reading," Beastboy gagged as if revolted by the notion. He cast one last disparaging look around the musty shop before heading outside to fresher air.

xxxx

Raven spent the better part of the afternoon blazing through the first eight chapters; she had become rooted to her spot, opting instead to lean against the bookshelf behind her rather than find a comfortable place to sit. It was only when the disgruntled clerk came over and asked if she thought this was a free reading library did Raven hurriedly pay for her purchase and leave.

She stepped out into the twilight, book tucked protectively under her arm. Farther down the street she could see the flashing neon sign advertising an arcade, but when the dark titan walked past the storefront she saw that the lights inside were off. Beastboy must have gone home hours ago.

Raven stood there for a moment, contemplating whether to go to her favorite cozy teashop to continue reading, or to head back to the tower.

The sound of muffled shouts and scuffling footsteps caught her attention, and she whipped around to see a dark figure swiftly jumping from roof to roof, chased by two—no, _three_— pursuers.

Raven's eyes narrowed as she watched the chase move further away. There was evidently something going on, and as a titan it was her responsibility to investigate.

Raven summoned her magic and it swallow her up for a moment, before she emerged as her soulself bird. She pumped her wings and rose up in the air, gaining enough altitude to look down upon the grid of the city below.

It did not take long to spot the chase again, and she sped up, following just behind them. Despite the falling darkness, Raven was now close enough to make out the features of the shadowy runners— that enormous, burly one was definitely Mammoth. The ridiculously pointy pigtails marked Jinx, and the scrawny kid in the Batman getup must be Kyd Wykkyd.

The lanky figure they were chasing paused a moment to turn and throw two slicing, spinning red shuriken into their path.

So Red-X was the one they were after. What were H.I.V.E. members doing chasing him?

At the edge of a warehouse roof Red-X leapt down, disappearing from sight into the alleyway below. The three H.I.V.E.s followed after, hot on his tracks.

Bird-Raven flew level to the roof and transformed back into her physical form, landing lightly on her feet.

_So Red-X has ticked off the H.I.V.E. somehow, _she thought.

There was no need for her to follow any farther. Her job was to look after law-abiding citizens, not to monitor the disputes between city criminals.

Raven's mind drifted back to the rocky emotional state at the Titan Tower. It was particularly hard for her as a finely-tuned empath, and between Starfire's anguish and Robin's waves of guilt and frustration, it was often too much to handle. Raven wondered if a small act of kindness on her part might somehow help ease the tension that had been growing like thunderclouds; perhaps a hair ornament for Starfire, a book on martial arts for Robin?

A loud crash of something heavy hitting brick stopped short Raven's thoughts, and a large pink explosion from the alleyway cast light on the walls high above. Raven ran to the edge of the warehouse roof, looking down on the scene below her.

Mammoth held Red-X pinned against the alley wall, a beefy hand around his neck in a chokehold. Kyd Wykkyd stood by mutely watching, holding X's utility belt in his hand. Jinx's hands glowed pink, sparking with magic energy that she held dangerously close to the thief's masked face.

"You better tell me where you've hid it, you filthy pickpocket," she hissed.

Red-X gave a weak chuckle, but it was clear that much of his usual bravado had disappeared.

"I can't imagine why you'd assume I was the one who took it, Pinky," X taunted, trying to maintain his swaggering façade.

"Mammoth." Jinx ordered sharply.

Obediently the muscled abhuman reached back his free hand and slammed his fist into Red-X's face. The mask split, some pieces slipping off and clattering to the ground. Blood leaked out from beneath the pieces that remained in place, running down the front of the black suit.

"I think you missed," X muttered.

Mammoth punched him a second time, harder, for good measure. Red-X kept his mouth shut. He didn't have much flesh left that hadn't already been pummeled.

"Not feeling so cocky now, huh?" Jinx smirked. "I'll ask you one more time. After that, we'll take you down to the funeral home so you can pick out a coffin."

Red-X didn't answer. It took too much effort to talk, to breathe. Everything hurt, from his ribs to his back. He wasn't even sure he could stand up straight without Mammoth supporting him with the vicelike grip around his neck.

Jinx's eyes narrowed furiously when she saw X had no intention to respond. She reached out a glowing hand, sending a crackling bolt toward the thief's chest.

"That's enough," a cold voice rang out.

A black shield was thrown up in front of X and the lethal shot bounced off it, ricocheting through the alleyway. The three H.I.V.E. members spun around, shock evident on their faces when they saw a Titan crouched on the ground before them, staring out from the shadow of her hood.

"Raven? What the hell are you doing here?" Jinx demanded incredulously, backing up against the brick wall.

"It's a pain when one of you dies. Too much paperwork," Raven said through gritted teeth, leaping toward the girl and pressing her forearm against the pink witch's windpipe. Jinx clawed at the suffocating arm, eyes wide, until Mammoth came behind Raven and picked her up, throwing her against the back wall. The wind knocked out of her, the sorceress lay gasping for a moment, trying to catch her breath.

Mammoth rushed toward her and she released a series of black energy bolts, momentarily stunning him. Raven pushed herself up from the ground and threw up a shield at the last moment when she sensed a flash of pink magic heading toward her. It deflected off and Raven flew up, concentrating her focus and gathering her energy. She released a powerful beam of energy that blasted back Mammoth and he fell, unconscious, lying in a smoking crater that had been smooth pavement seconds before.

Jinx sent another volley of bolts toward the emapth, and she dived toward the ground to avoid their searing touch. Kyd Wykyyd stealthily snuck up behind Raven, and taking advantage of her current preoccupation, nailed her with a roundhouse kick to the head. Raven went sprawling but caught herself mid-fall, putting a hand against the wall to steady herself.

She was ready for his next attack, and when she sensed him about to strike, she levitated Mammoth's hulking, unconscious form and threw it as hard as she could at the elusive Wykyyd. All 400 pounds of Mammoth crashed onto his teammate, pinning him to the ground.

Jinx prepared to send a jarring blast Raven's way, but upon seeing her two teammates taken down, thought better of it. She cast a glowering look at Raven.

"Another time, Titan," she promised darkly, before leaping up onto the nearby roof and sprinting away.

Raven watched her go, silently grateful she did not have to deal with taking her down right now. She was ready to get back to the tower and have a nice cup of soothing tea.

Raven turned to leave, but stopped when she heard a faint groan behind her. She looked back and saw Red-X lying slumped on the ground, a dark red crust forming around his mask. His breathing was labored and rattling, as if ribs had been broken, and he seemed unable to walk.

Raven hesitated, and she had a brief moment where an image of Robin popped inside her head, giving her a speech about why helping bad guys was the exact thing the Teen Titans were _against._

Raven crouched down beside the thief, trying to shift him to a more upright position so that he could breathe better.

"Shit, Sunshine, don't you know that hurts like hell?" X panted, his fists clenching and unclenching in spasms. He leaned his head back against the wall, the pain making his mind swim. Everything was thick and heavy like fog.

"I can't fly you back in this state," Raven said quietly.

Red-X didn't reply; it took him all his energy just to keep conscious.

Raven placed her hands on his shoulders and closed her eyes. They both were engulfed in black energy; it swallowed them up, teleporting them away from the torn-up alleyway.

They reappeared in Raven's room, and she released her hold on X to allow him to fall back, unconscious, against her bed.

X

X

** Ka-pow! The Action! This chapter took me quite a while to write. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Take care, and please leave any thoughts, comments, critiques. :)**


	9. Chapter 9: The Patient

**Hey guys, sorry for the slight delay! The beginning of a new semester is always a bit hectic. Hope you enjoy.**

Raven stared at the unconscious criminal splayed across her bed, his shallow breathing and the iron-tinged smell of blood filling the air. The thought passed through her mind that Robin would want her to call him here, to hand over to him the elusive thief he had been trying to unmask for months.

But she wouldn't. She wasn't underhanded. She had brought X here with the intention of ensuring he lived to taunt another day.

Raven looked down at her hands. Perhaps that made her weak, having principles.

A faint, dry cough yanked the sorceress back from her mind, into the present.

_Focus,_ she told herself firmly. _There's a person in front of you who needs medical attention._

The empath pushed the contemplations out of her mind and set about examining the thief's wounds.

The most immediately noticeable was a very large gash that stretched across his abdomen, still weeping blood from the fight with H.I.V.E. That would have to be taken care of soon, to prevent the onset of infection. Then there was his face, which was sure to be a bruised and bloody mess underneath the shards of remaining mask.

Shaking her head to herself, Raven walked toward the side of the bed and tested X's left leg, using the medical training she had learned from the monks on Azarath to detect any broken bones. The leg seemed unharmed, so the sorceress moved around and checked the other, which she found to be sprained.

That only left his chest to be checked. Raven laid her hands as lightly as she could on him, but he still moaned in his sleep, trying to move away. Concentrating, she examined his chest for broken ribs, and much to her disappointment, found them.

_Those are going to take days to heal,_ she thought resignedly.

With only so much magic at her disposal, the dark titan began to prioritize what would be healed first. She decided the ribs were the most pressing injury present, as they hindered Red-X's ability to breathe and were the cause of much of his pain. The leg would have to wait for now— but first, Raven realized, the cuts on his face and stomach needed to be cleaned and bandaged.

Casting one last glance at her sleeping patient, Raven opened the bedroom door and stepped outside as quietly as possible, desiring to not attract any unwelcome questions from her teammates. She floated soundlessly down the hall, towards the infirmary where the first aid kit was kept, keeping her ears pricked for the sound of any approaching footsteps. Once in the infirmary, it took her a brief minute to locate the kit before she could hurry back to her room.

Safe behind the _click _of her closed door, the dark titan released a small exhale of relief. She walked over to Red-X and set the first-aid kid down on the sheets next to him. Reaching toward his stomach, she peeled the sticky edges of the torn suit away from the gash, exposing the raw flesh to its full extent. She grimaced at the blood that oozed out, mingling with dirt and sweat. Raven picked up a cotton pad and began applying a generous amount of disinfectant, steeling herself for the inevitable reaction.  
The second the pad touched his wound, Red-X shot up, hollering in anguish.

Raven slapped her hand over his mouth, alarmed that the others would hear and come running. She looked at X half exasperatedly, half apologetically.

"I know, I know, it stings," she spoke in a low voice. "But you have to keep quiet or else everyone will hear."

"You're going to kill me," Red-X groaned, letting his head fall back heavily.

"Can you keep quiet if I try cleaning it again?"

"Are you joking?" he muttered back incredulously. "Try sticking a white-hot poker against your insides."

Raven sat a moment thinking, then sighed.

"We're going to have to do this the old-fashioned way," she said.

She stood up and went to her dresser, rummaging around before pulling out an old, black t-shirt. She ripped it in half and balled it up, holding it up to show X.

"This'll be stuffed in your mouth so that your yelling doesn't alert everyone in a fifty mile radius," she explained, her tone tinged with mockery.

Red-X studied the primitive wad of fabric for a second, then seemed to accept it.

"Can you at least soak it in booze?" he asked.

Raven looked at him strangely. "What?"

The thief tried to chuckle, but it came out a choking gasp.

"It's what sailors used to use to deal with the pain during operations, before they had proper anesthetics," he told her.

Raven bit her lip. "Well Robin doesn't allow us to keep alcohol in the tower… but I know where Cyborg has some hidden," she finished.

"Guess it's my lucky day," X rasped; he was finding it increasingly difficult to fill his lungs with air.

"I'll be right back. Don't move," the dark titan warned before disappearing out of the room.

"Not like I could if I wanted to, Princess," X muttered to himself.

xxxx

Raven reappeared a few minutes later, holding a bottle of whiskey. She pressed the cloth ball against spout and tipped the bottle, letting it soak into the fabric before screwing the lid back on.

"Alright," she said, stepping over to him. Red-X obediently opened his mouth and Raven stuffed the material in, effectively muffling him. She then picked the cotton pad and disinfectant back up and resumed cleaning his stomach wound, this time with more satisfactory results.

After finishing the abdomen, she moved on to cleaning up his face. Now mostly numb to the stinging of the disinfectant, X drifted in and out of sleep, allowing Raven to work quickly and unobserved— the way she preferred.

She started by carefully removing the pieces of mask that still clung to his face, taking care to avoid the jagged edges.

Once they had been cleared away, Raven tried to not look directly at him. She felt as if it were an intrusion upon the most intimate aspect of his life, to have his greatest secret exposed while he lay in a vulnerable state. Despite having already seen his face from their encounter in the teashop, this was different.

This was foe meeting foe, with a mutual understanding that the bruised mess lying before her was at her mercy, should she choose to reveal him.

It was difficult to clean and bandage cuts without looking at his face, but the empath had managed fairly well until Red-X stirred from sleep, opening his eyes slowly. When he saw her leaning over him, wiping blood off his swollen jaw, he smiled grimly.

"It must be pretty bad if you can't even look at it," he said teasingly.

Raven remained silent, continuing with the task at hand. She didn't want to explain to him why she wouldn't look at his unmasked face, why her complicated sense of principles prevented her from taking advantage of his vulnerability. She didn't want him to laugh at her foolishness.

When she had finished, Raven sat back and admired her handiwork. It certainly wasn't pretty, but it at least would prevent infection and festering.

With the first part over, the sorceress prepared herself for the healing of his fractured ribs.

She rested her palms gently on his chest, and closing her eyes, began chanting an incantation. Her hands glowed black, and X's body went rigid before slowly relaxing underneath the warm power that coursed out from her and into him, speeding up the mending process as cells began regrowth and bones began realigning.

Raven stayed in that position, sitting on the side of the bed for a half hour, her concentration never breaking as she channeled magic into his internal system.

Finally, straightening up, she released the connection and the energy seized flowing between them. Wiping sweat away from her brow, Raven faced Red-X.

"That's as much as I can manage for today," she spoke in her monotone. "I'll work on it some more tomorrow."

The thief offered a grateful half-smile. "Thanks, Doc. I already feel much better."

Raven moved her gaze from his ebony hair down to his warm grey eyes.

"You helped me, so I'll help you," she told him flatly. "That's it."

X raised his eyebrows, his mouth quirking as he tried to hide a smirk. "Yeah, Sunshine? If you say so."

The empath kept her face blank, refusing to allow the insufferable thief to provoke her. He only wanted the satisfaction of getting a rise out of her, and she would not give it to him.

Unfazed by her stoic expression, Red-X tried stretching his aching muscles, wincing at the sore spots that protested. Raven heard an unmistakable growling noise, and she chuckled softly.

"I forgot about food," she said. "I'll go scrounge something up to eat,"

"Sounds good to me, Bluebird."

"Can it, X," Raven muttered back only half-heartedly, stepping out.

X

X

**The next chapter will be a continuation of this one. I felt that together they were way too long, so I split them. Expect an update soon!**


	10. Chapter 10: Jason Todd

Raven dug through the titan fridge, pushing aside Starfire's molding "puddings" and Beastboy's inedible soy products. She pulled out some leftover casserole from the night before and dumped it on a plate, her mind drifting to the patient hidden away in her room. She wondered how long it would take her to mend Red-X enough for him to return to his… hobby. Raven silently prayed he would never bring it up in future battles; if her leader ever found out she had nursed the thief back to health, he'd kill h—

"Hey, Raven," came a cool voice behind her, startling the sorceress. She flinched, nearly dropping the plate on the hard tile floor.

The masked titan walked over to a cabinet and reached for a glass, pouring himself a protein shake.

"Robin," Raven acknowledged, her hand shaking slightly as she placed the mound of food in the microwave.

Robin stared at the amount she had piled, a look of incredulity on his face. He raised an eyebrow.

"Since when did you start eating your weight in food?" he asked, disbelief evident in his tone.

"Since I decided to become a professional wrestler," Raven shot back swiftly. "How're things with Starfire?" she quickly added, eager to redirect the subject.

Robin's face darkened, frown lines creasing his forehead.

"Not good. I… we ended it. She's not taking it very well, though. I just hope it won't affect the team. We can't afford to not work together."

Raven offered an understanding frown for her distressed friend. She knew the troubles that plagued Robin's mind were often two-fold, as the Titan leader. The empath also felt a pang of sympathy for the alien girl, who had become very attached to and smitten with her leader.

"Maybe I'll go talk to Star," she murmured, looking past Robin toward the Tamaranean's bedroom door.

Robin reached out and placed a gloved hand on her slender shoulder. "Thanks, Rae," he said sincerely.

Raven simply nodded her head. The microwave dinged and she stepped back, allowing his hand to drop back down by his side.

xxxx

"Starfire? Do you want to talk?" Raven called out tentatively, her knuckles rapping softly on the door.

There was no response. One minute slid into the next, passing in silence. The dark titan pressed her ear against the door.

"Star? Are you in there?" she called again.

A faint weeping could be heard on the other side, intermittently interrupted by deep gasps of breath and hiccups.

"I wish to be alone," a quavering voice responded back, nearly inaudible.

Raven could feel the emotional sickness rolling like waves through the Tamaranean's door, crashing down on to her.

She stood by the door for another minute, half-expecting the alien girl to relent and let her in.

Finally though, the empath realized her friend really did wish for solitude. Resigned, she departed soundlessly to leave her be with her sorrows.

xxxx

Raven returned to her room and set the steaming plate of food on the nightstand beside Red-X. He had propped himself up into a somewhat bearable sitting position, his back resting against her dark blue pillows.

"Not bad, for someone who doesn't eat," he commented teasingly, quirking an eyebrow.

Raven nodded wordlessly, accepting this as his way of saying thank you.

She sat down on her windowsill, her pale legs drawn up against her body. She stared silently out toward the water, waiting for X to finish his meal.

She thought of Starfire and how much agony she was experiencing right now. She thought of Robin and how clumsy, how careless he could sometimes be with other's emotions. But she also thought of how he had a right to choose to end things when a romantic relationship no longer worked.  
Raven wished things to be right between her two teammates; she cared for them both, and seeing them twisted up in the throes of anguish and guilt hurt her, even without her empathic sixth sense.

"Do you do that a lot?" a voice spoke.

Raven turned around to look at the thief. He didn't sound as if he were teasing her.

"Do what?" she asked, taken off-guard.

"Just check out of reality and go inside your head," he clarified, looking at her like she was a knot to unravel.

Raven met the intensity of his stare. "It's the only place I can safely be myself," she replied honestly.

"Why can't you be yourself around others?" His voice was now tinged with curiosity. And was that concern she heard creeping in as well?

"Because if my emotions aren't kept tightly under control, bad things happen," the titan explained before she could stop herself.

Red-X looked at her, confusion evident on his roguish face.

Raven turned back toward the window, but did not see the view. She focused on X's reflection in the glass.

"I don't know why I bothered to tell you that," she muttered, mainly to herself.

The less people that knew, the better.

She didn't need to go around explaining to the thief—or anyone, for that matter— about her demonic heritage or how her powers were controlled by her emotions. Or how very bad things happened when those emotions were not kept in check.

It was exactly the sort of information he could use against her.

Raven mentally cursed herself for being stupid, for allowing herself to slip for a moment, to reveal even the small bit of truth that she did.

There was a long silence.

Red-X seemed to be thinking things over in his mind, trying to grasp her. But she was as elusive as a shadow, continually slipping through his fingers.

There was a sudden sharp knock, and Raven jumped up. Composing her face into an unreadable mask, she walked to the entrance and slid back the door just a fraction of an inch, enough to glare at whomever stood in the hallway.

It was Cyborg.

"Hey, Rae," he said, first looking at her and then over her head, trying to see into the room.

"BB jut heard… er, some of us thought we heard talking in your room… and I just wanted to make sure everything's alright," the half-robot explained, straining his neck to see farther back into the shadowed chamber.  
"I just wanted to make sure you weren't having any more troubles with that book again—"

Raven's cheeks flushed red, though whether from annoyance or embarrassment, she wasn't sure.

"And if you're talking to yourself, that's okay I guess, but know that we're always out here to talk if you want to— we all care about you Rae—and if it's some boy in there, well, that's alright too I guess… but not really, if he messes with you," Cy finished extra loud, as if to make sure any lurking boys could hear him clearly.

"Cyborg, all I'm doing is going over some spell incantations," the sorceress explained calmly, already beginning to close the door. Inside her, Rage was setting fire to a couple trees. Sadness was crying for Rage to stop.

Cyborg stuck his powerful foot in the door, stopping its progress. He locked eyes with her, looking at her meaningfully. Intensely.

"Be careful Rae," he warned, his voice low and serious.

Raven was taken aback. She did not respond, her stomach knotting uneasily.

He cast one last, long glance at her before removing his foot and walking back toward the living room.

The door slid shut and Raven stood there for a moment, petrified.

_Did he know? _Had he somehow found out?

_No, that's impossible,_ the empath reassured herself. X had only been here for a day. Cyborg probably just suspected Raven had smuggled a civilian Goth into her room. Maybe found another dangerous talking book. Nothing more.

She relaxed slightly, her shoulders dropping from the release of tension.

She turned around to see X looking at her, an amused smile playing around the corners of his mouth.

"You've got the quite the protective brother," he remarked.

Raven couldn't help smiling herself.

"Cyborg has done a lot for me. We look out for each other," she said, a touch of warmth creeping into her voice.

"And what was that he said, about a book giving you trouble?" Red-X asked, his curiosity showing through.

Raven immediately shut down.

"That's not up for discussion."

Block everything out. Block him, block yourself, block the memory…

Despite her controlled face, Red-X could hear the hurt and anger in her voice.

"I see," he mused quietly.

So the bird had been wounded.

"Well, if you ever do want to discuss…" he added, trying to get her to meet his eyes.

"You should get some sleep," Raven cut him off sharply. "It's been a long day. For both of us."

She grabbed a pillow and a spare blanket from her bed, creating a makeshift nest on the floor. The titan settled in, allowing the silken sheet to envelope her.

A silence filled the room, each of them listening to the breathing of the other, waiting for sleep to descend.

"My name is Jason." His husky voice punctured the silence.

"Jason Todd," he added, as if an afterthought.

Violet eyes flew open, wide. Raven lay there stunned.

"Goodnight, Raven," he said softly.

A rustling noise told her he had rolled over, and soon his breathing lulled, becoming deep and even.

X

X

**Gasp! Revealing his second biggest secret! Red-X is really putting himself out there, huh?  
School has been hectic, which is why there have been longer waits between updates—so sorry in both retrospect and advance, guys. Hope you all are doing well!**


	11. Chapter 11: A Chink in the Wall

Jason awoke slowly, his mind muddled and swirling with images of fading dreams and half-formed thoughts. He laid there in the dim light, blinking to adjust his eyes as he strained to recollect where he was. The rogue felt disoriented and confused by the unfamiliar dark colors that surrounded him. The bed didn't feel like his either. His gaze roamed around the room before coming to rest on a thick book lying on the nightstand opposite him; suddenly it clicked.

_I'm in Raven's room,_ he thought, and the memories of the past 24 hours came rushing back into his head.

X winced as he remembered the fight with H.I.V.E— that Mammoth sure had one hell of a brutal punch— and he made a mental note to repay them sometime in the future, for all the injuries. A pale glow was pulsing next to the nightstand book, and he drifted his eyes over to the illuminated alarm clock. 9:45 A.M.

Jason carefully propped himself up in bed, trying to see if Raven was still curled up on her spot on the floor. To his disappointment, no gently breathing body lay on the blue carpet. Just a neatly folded blanket stacked on top of a pillow. He sighed, ceasing the exertion of holding himself upright and falling back against the plush mattress.

The thief folded his hands on top of his chest and stared up at the ceiling. How many nights had she lain like this, meditating on the unfathomable things that occupied her? How many days had been spent here, sifting through the shadowy compartments of her mind? How many of those hours had been consumed contemplating him?

Jason smiled to himself at that last thought. He liked to imagine a good bit of time.

He wondered how long she'd be gone. It was lonely in here, without having her around to tease and irritate.

Red-X closed his eyes and remembered the time he had made the dark bird blush so furiously. That single moment had been the most sublime in his life. The opportunity to stand so close to her, to _smell _her— she had smelled of lavender and peppermint. To actually to get to touch her…

To press his lips against hers was a bliss even he had not anticipated.

His fingers curled around the pillow beneath his head and he buried his face against it, trying to inhale the faint residue of her scent.

She had pulled back farther into herself after that night. She had been there, in his hands so to speak, not protesting against his proximity, not resisting his soft kiss. He thought for certain that he had overcome her barriers, had chinked her glass wall enough to allow himself to wiggle through. He had been convinced that after that night, things between them would change.

But she had built up three new walls for the chink he had put in the first.

He couldn't understand it. Why was she so… frustrating? She seemed to fight against herself, to imprison herself inside her own mind. Hadn't she practically admitted it to him?

_"If my emotions aren't kept under control, bad things happen... It' the only place I can safely be myself."_

He gazed at her room, at her world. At every possession of significance that she owned.

_What will it take?_ Jason asked himself. _What will it take for her to finally open up, to see I'm not something to fear?_

The door slid open with a hiss, and he looked up to see dark hooded figure step in quietly. He grinned.

"Nice of you to drop in, kid. I knew you wouldn't be able to stay away from me."

xxxx

Raven scowled at the boy laying on her bed.

"I'm going to work on healing your ribs some more," she explained to him.

"I know that's just your clever excuse for touching my chest," he winked seductively.

A muscle in Raven's jaw worked furiously. Then she released a deep sigh, relaxing. She should know better by now. Just let it wash over her. He only wanted her to get riled up.

The empath sat down beside him and placed her palms against his ribcage, closing her eyes and beginning the chant.

After a good half-hour, Jason could tell when she was slowing down, about to bring the spell to an end. Finishing the last string of the mantra, she dropped her shoulders and exhaled slowly. Before she could move her arms back, the thief grabbed her hands, holding them tightly in his own, close to his chest. Small, cold fingers enclosed by larger, warmer ones.

Raven looked up at him, surprise showing in her eyes. He gazed back at her intently, pinning the dark titan down with his stare. She was transfixed by the warmth that seemed to lap at the edges of his grey-green irises. Something flamed inside her chest, a burning sensation that traveled down into her stomach and back up again.

"Don't do that," Raven muttered, ducking her head. She tugged her hands away from his, turning her face to hide the faint coloring that had risen on her cheeks.

Jason watched her softly, following her every move.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he murmured, honesty showing in his eyes.

Raven's jaw clenched and her hands balled up, knuckles turning deathly white.

"How do I know that?" she muttered bitterly, not turning around when she spoke.

"You know who I am. You have my face, my name. My whole identity. If anyone should be worried about being hurt, it's me," Jason explained cautiously. He reached out a hand toward her, then thought better of it, pulling back.

"I care about you. As much as I've tried to deny it, to ignore it, I've reached the point where I can't get past it any more—I feel something for you, Raven. I want to be your friend. I want to know you…" He trailed off, then took a shaky breath. She had remained rigid, mutely listening to him.

"Please say something." His voice sounded uncharacteristically pleading.

Raven turned back slowly, head bowed, keeping her face in the shadow of her hood. She opened her mouth to speak, and the first words came out cracked.

"There… was someone named Malchior. I thought he understood me. He listened... He said he cared. We spent a lot of time alone together. I became… very close to him."

Raven took a breath to steady herself, sliding her gaze away from his intense stare to the wall, unnerved by his unwavering observation of her.

"I guess you could say I fell for him."

She lapsed into silence. Ghostly images floated up before her mind. Secretly shared smiles, a warm, trusting touch. These memories no longer frightened her, though. Now they just made a hollowness resonate inside of her.

The titan forced her eyes up and looked directly at Jason.

"He lied to me and used me to get something he wanted. He betrayed me."

Raven's words caught in her throat and a tear escaped her crystalized mask, marking a watery trail down her jaw.

Jason reached out toward her tentatively, and when she made no move to flinch away, gently wiped the salty drop with his thumb.

"I can never forgive him for what he did to you," he said quietly. He took hold of her right hand and pressed it against his heart. Raven could feel the even tempo thudding through his veins.

"Let me help you forget," he murmured. "Let me show you what happiness feels like."

Raven looked down at the hand pressed against his chest, a look of wonder and bewilderment in her eyes. A tingling made its way down her back and she could feel herself shaking slightly, but she was not afraid.

She opened her mouth—

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

The piercing wail of the crime alarm shattered the serenity that had begun to fill the dark room.

A heavy pounding resounded at the door, and a voice shouted on the other side.

"It's Cinderblock, Raven! Get a move on, we've gotta go!"

Raven jumped up, startled by the sudden onslaught of noise and calls. She gazed at the boy lying before her, torn.

Jason looked back sorrowfully.

"I'll still be here when you get back," he said, reminding her of his present condition.

Raven hesitated, then nodded quickly before rushing out the room, the edge of her cape whipping around the corner of the doorframe as she disappeared from view.

X

X

**I really enjoyed writing this chapter; getting to show X's sensitive side was a treat for me. Please let me know what you guys think! Your support is always appreciated.**


	12. Chapter 12: Entwined Fingers

When Raven returned to the Tower later that afternoon, she was worn and bruised from the showdown against Cinderblock. The Teen Titans had performed very poorly during the battle; both Robin and Starfire were out of sync and off-kilter, accidentally aiming shots at friend instead of foe and blundering into one another's range of fire. The whole team had suffered, and if not for some power moves that Cyborg and Beastboy had been practicing together, Cinderblock would have wiped the floor with them.

Robin had immediately stalked into his room and slammed the door as soon as they'd arrived home; no doubt brooding over the team's inefficiency and ineffectiveness. The Boy Wonder was particularly susceptible to the ridicule that they would endure by the City if their act wasn't cleaned up.

Cyborg and Beastboy quickly bailed the Tower soon after, heading downtown to get a half-vegan, half-meatlover's pizza to help unwind after the tense battle. They had managed to coax Starfire into going with them, reasoning that a little outing would help her feel better about everything that had been going on lately.

Raven herself had had mixed feelings about returning to the Titan Tower after the fight. There was a powerful urge to both run toward her room and run away from it— a strange mixture of nervousness and excitement, which seemed foreign to the isolated empath, yet at the same time stirred familiarly in the crevices of her mind.

She entered quietly, cautiously, as if feeling the need to stake out her bedroom before revealing her presence.

As the dark bird stepped further into the dim chamber, the soft, steady rhythm of breathing told her that there was nothing to be anxious about. Red-X, unmasked,— looking for anything like a normal person, a person who held a regular job, interacted with normal people, lived in an average home— was burrowed beneath her sheets, arms wrapped around a pillow that was pressed against his chest. An almost innocent look upon rested upon his normally scheming, cocky face, deep black hair tumbling across his brow and the strong line of his jaw revealed by a sliver of light from the window.

Raven looked down at him, at his peacefully sleeping form. She gave into temptation and reached out, brushing her fingertips down the side of his profile, remembering what he said earlier. She concentrated on his face, on how he lightly stirred beneath her touch, trying to convince herself that this was real, that Jason was real.

She stayed like that for another moment before tearing herself away, bringing her mind into the present. The sorceress recalled the idea she had conceived many nights ago, the one involving small gifts for both Starfire and Robin to help ease their aching hearts.

Recognizing that this was as good a time as any to go get them, Raven left her sleeping patient undisturbed and exited the room to purchase the presents.

xxxx

"Starfire? It's Raven," the empath called out tentatively, a bright butterfly ornament clasped in her left hand.

"Come in, friend Raven," the Tamaranean replied from within her room.

The door slid back and the dark titan was suddenly barraged by a colorful spectrum of fluffy stuffed animals and ribbon-trimmed decorations. The very distinct scent of a flowery perfume wafted through the air.

The alien girl was lying across her rumpled pink bedspread, hair splayed out around her head like a flaming halo and her legs dangling off the edge of the mattress. Silkie lay on her chest, and Starfire was carefully grooming the beloved pet. She sat up when Raven entered the room, and her larvae moth tumbled onto the bed with a squeak.

"Have you come to join me in the relaxing exercise of brushing the skin of my little bumgorf?" she inquired, eyes lighting up.

Raven took a step back, as if to ward off the larva moth.

"Er… no— sorry, Star. I actually came to give you this."

She sat down beside her friend, opening her hand to show the glittering butterfly clip. Starfire let out a small gasp, her hands clapping together.

"This is for me?" she exclaimed delightedly. "This is most beautiful, Raven!"

The Tamaranean scooped up the hair ornament and flew over to her mirror, fixing it in her hair at a pretty angle. She turned around, positively beaming at the dark titan.

"Thank you so much. I cannot express what this means to me." The strong girl enveloped her smaller friend in a bone crushing hug, squeezing so tight that Raven finally gasped out,

"Star— can't breathe—!"

Starfire released her and Raven rubbed her sore arms. She smiled at the Tamaranean.

"I'm glad you like it, Star. I just wanted you to know... that I care about you, and I miss you not being as happy as you usually are."

Starfire's smile faltered, like a bright bulb that suddenly dims to a pale orange glow. She bowed her head, her eyes downcast at the fuzzy carpet.

"To tell you the truth… I have not been feeling so well," she said sadly.

Raven watched her, feeling her pain yet unsure how to properly comfort her. The sorrow swirling in the room was tangible. The empath opened her mouth, hesitated, then plowed on ahead.

"Star… no matter what, you have to know that Robin will always care about you, and love you. You're one of his best friends. You mean so much to him, to all of us… we hate to see you like this." Raven paused, looking closely at her friend's face.

"And there are so many other guys out there Star, just dying to have a chance with you. Think of Speedy, Aqualad… you could have any one you wanted. Robin is just the first of many."

Starfire turned her face up toward the sorceress, her brilliant green eyes glistening.

"Thank you friend, truly," she said, a watery smile spreading slowly. "You have alleviated much of my distress. I am glad to have a companion such as you."

Raven gave her a genuine smile in return, happy that the Tamaranean might now be able to move on and return to her lively self once more.

"Now that I know you are such a wonderful comfort, I shall be sure to seek you out immediately whenever a problem arises that I would like to discuss with—"

"Er..."

xxxx

Exhausted from the physically and mentally draining day, the sorceress stumbled to her room, barely managing to unclasp her hood and cape before collapsing onto her bed. Her eyelids fluttered closed and she was quickly adrift on the tugging currents of sleep.

xxxx

Sunlight streamed in through the large paned window, casting gleaming yellow rays through the normally shadowed room. Warm, steady gusts of air tickled Raven's cheek.

"Go away Beast Boy," she murmured groggily, trying to ward off the shapeshifter whom she thought was invading her space this early in the morning.

A low chuckle reverberated alarming close to her ear, and the titan's eyes flew open.

Red-X lay a foot away, his arms tucked lazily behind his head. His gaze was fixed intently on her, studying every detail of her form.

Raven felt herself heating up, and she reached behind her head to pull up her hood. Much to her dismay, she realized that it was still strewn across a chair from last night.

"Do you always do that?" she muttered embarrassedly, trying to divert his attention.

He cocked his head and raised an eyebrow. "Only when you're not watching," he reassured her devilishly. "I must say, it was quite a treat to wake up to an extra warm body this morning."

Now Raven could not even attempt to hide the deep flush oF her face. "I didn't mean to," she muttered quickly, trying to avert her gaze from his own. "I was too tired last night to remember that someone already occupied my bed."

He gave her a provocative smile. "Well maybe you should make more of a habit of it," he suggested.

She pushed herself up, wrinkling her nose. "You reek," she commented to him frankly.

The thief shrugged. "That tends to happen when one lies paralyzed in a bed for many days."

Raven scoffed. "You're not paralyzed, just dramatic."

He grinned. "I take terrible offense at that statement, you know."

"Good," she answered back, rolling her eyes.

The sorceress pulled herself out of bed, brushing her hair back from her eyes.

"I can get started on your leg this morning," she told him, walking around and sitting on his side.

He watched as she laid her hands on his broken leg, and closed his eyes when the warm power began to trickle into his bones.

x

After the mending spell had been completed, Raven wiped a bead of sweat away from her brow and examined his now mostly-healed body. She seemed satisfied.

"All you need is some rest, and then you'll be well enough to return to your… lifestyle," she said, a faintly mocking smile quirking her lips.

"May I use your shower?" The criminal sniffed his arm. "I think you were right about me smelling stale," he added.

"Um— sure," Raven replied hesitantly. "You're probably going to need to borrow something to wear."

She gestured at his suit, which indeed was torn in many places and still crusted with blood.

He flashed a cheeky smile. "I think Boy Blunder is about my size."

xxxx

Raven felt slightly bad for breaking into Robin's room and nicking a pair of boxers, jeans, and a dark t-shirt. However, she reasoned that there was no good explanation—outside of the truth— that she could give him if she were to outright ask his permission. So she settled on borrowing the clothing now and asking for forgiveness later.

She hurried back toward her room, the bundle tucked under her arm, until she smacked into something solid. Raven stumbled backwards, the floor titling up like the deck of a ship, and as she reached to rub her throbbing forehead the clothes tumbled to the floor in a heap.

Cyborg stood above her, a look of suspicion on his face.

"What's up, Rae?" he asked casually, folding his thickly muscled arms across his chest as he eyed the men's clothes on the ground.

The sorceress's eyes widened in panic. "I— I, er, those… Robin wanted me to wash them for him," she finished lamely, unable to meet Cyborg's hard stare.

"Robin wanted you to wash three articles of clothing, huh? And since when did you start doing Robin's laundry?"

"Uh, well, I lost a bet—"

"Listen, Raven," he cut her off. "Your business is your business, and I respect your privacy. But I'm getting a strong feeling that something's up that you're not telling us," he eyed her in a no-nonsense way. "And let's just say that if it's something big, you best be sure I'm not the last to find out. Because I'm the closest ally you've got here."

Raven's heart pounded. Her secret was at the tip of her tongue, just a breath away from being spilt out to Cyborg, if for no other reason than the need to confide in someone about it. But she sucked in her breath, unable to face the reaction she knew she would receive if she were to tell him here, now.

"I—I know Cyborg. You're right. I just… it's hard to share, right now." Raven looked up at him. "I trust you the most. But I don't think I'm ready, yet."

Cyborg nodded, the hard look softening a little, but still sharp. "I think I already have half an idea of what's going on," he said.

Raven paled, but said nothing, hastily bending down to pick up the clothing.

xxxx

Her room was thick with humid steam by the time she returned. Raven knocked on the bathroom door, intending to slip the clothes inside to him.

The door swung open at her touch though, and she jumped when a tall figure emerged from the cloud of steam, a white towel wrapped around his waist. His hair was plastered and dripping, and little rivulets of water ran down his tan chest. Raven followed their intricate path from his neck down to his toned abdomen, until they were absorbed at the top of the towel.

"Like what you see?" came an amused voice. Raven snapped back to attention, forcing her eyes up at the handsome face.

"I brought you some clothes," she stammered, trying to not let her gaze wander back down again.

"Perhaps you'd prefer if I just stayed in my towel," he offered with a smirk.

The titan shoved the clothes toward him, eager to exit the heated bathroom before she made a fool of herself.

As she backed out, she could swear he was laughing quietly to himself as he pulled the t-shirt over his head. She caught a last glimpse of well-defined arms, rippling with strength, before the door shut behind her.

Raven stood rooted to the spot for a moment, then took a breath to steady herself.

_Get a grip,_ she told herself exasperatedly.

She sat down in the alcove by her window, saying her calming mantra over in her head while she waited for him to get dressed. She became so focused on the flowing words that she did not hear the padding footsteps behind her. A lean body dropped down across from her, and Jason swiped his wet hair out of his eyes. His right leg was bent up on the seat, his forearm resting on top of his knee and his back settled comfortably against the wall.

"I imagine I smell a bit better now," he joked, making a ridiculous face.

"You do," Raven conceded, unconscious that she was smiling back at him.

The rogue shifted closer to her. Raven could smell the faint scent of her shampoo in his hair.

Jason reached out and took her hand, entwining his warm fingers with hers. A feeling of pleasure spread throughout Raven, which she unsuccessfully tried to ignore.

"Thank you for everything you've done for me, this past week," he said, genuine appreciativeness clear in his voice. "I probably wouldn't be alive, if not for you."

He lifted their interlocked hands and brushed his lips across the tops of her fingers.

Raven sat there quietly, enjoying the moment of having such gentle contact with someone. She hoped that these few seconds would stretch on until the earth's end, yet at the same time part of her felt guilty, as if she were holding hands with the devil.

Finally, she spoke.

"Red— Jason," she corrected herself.

"Yeah?"

"Don't think this changes anything."

He caught her stare. "Hmm?"

Raven cleared her jumbled mind, still holding on to his hand with hers.

"I've still got a job to do, so don't think I'll go easy on you or just let you get away," she clarified.

Jason grinned wide, a charming look on him which he knew well.

"I wouldn't expect any different from you, Sunshine. I've still got a job to do too. Things don't just steal themselves, you know," he said mischievously.

Raven rolled her eyes. "If only they did," she said under her breath.

xxxx

That morning and afternoon passed in pleasant tranquility for them. No alarm went off to call Raven away to battle, and so she had set up Jason with a book he was interested in. Together the two of them spent the day in her room reading, a sense of peace settling in the air. Once or twice each hour the thief would look slyly over his book and watch the graceful titan read, observing as she mouthed the words silently to herself, enjoying the moments when she smiled at something amusing. He wanted to brush her silky hair back from her face and ask what she loved about that novel.

As evening set in, red-orange streaking the dusky sky, Raven set her book down and stretched her slender limbs above her head. She glanced across at Jason, who was engrossed in a tome about priceless artifacts from the Arthurian era.

"I'm going up to the roof to meditate," she told him as she pulled on her navy blue cloak and hood.

Jason nodded wordlessly, too wrapped up in his book to speak, and Raven smiled as she recognized her own habit before her.

She headed to the roof and reveled in the fresh gusts of air that ruffled her hair and the beautiful, expansive sunset that greeted her openly. The sorceress sighed contentedly as she sat down, folding her legs into lotus position.

x

When Raven opened her eyes, her meditation complete, she felt relaxed— content, even. The sky had faded to black and stars were sprinkled above her, twinkling in a way that Starfire would describe as "glorious".

She sensed his presence at the same moment he spoke.

"I thought I'd find you here," came the serious yet gentle voice of her leader.

Robin moved closer and sat down beside her, the edge of his knee touching hers.

Raven looked at him, curious as to what he wanted. He seemed to sense her unspoken question.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" he asked, lounging back against the concrete roof, face titled up.

Raven nodded, she too drinking in the sea of constellations. What would it be like, to reach out and touch them?

They lapsed into quiet, both admiring the nightscape before them.

In the distance, the water between their island and the mainland brought the faint sounds of music from clubs and laughter from the wharf.

"You've been blocking out our connection more and more, Raven," Robin said suddenly, softly.

Raven turned her head toward him, slightly taken aback. She quickly began to wrack her mind, trying to come up with the right words to smooth over any hurt feelings.

"It's not personal, Robin," she answered carefully. "It's hard for me to deal with your strong emotions that emerged after your breakup."

Robin looked up at the sky, thinking. Finally he shifted his gaze back to her, his eyes boring into hers even through the mask.

"I feel like sometimes you're slipping away from me," he said, a hint of sadness in his voice.

He rested an ungloved hand on Raven's bare leg. She looked at him with surprise, her heart catching a little at the physical contact.

"I don't want to lose you Raven. You mean a lot to me. I would be a different person without you in my life," Robin trailed off with sincerity.

Raven tried to speak, then cleared her throat. Her palms felt sweaty.

"I got you a book, " she said haltingly, desperately wishing he would remove his hand and stop the unwelcome sensations.

Robin raised his eyebrows, astonished.

"You did?"

Raven swallowed and nodded.

"I got presents for both you and Starfire. Sort of as a cheer-you-up," she explained.

An interested smile spread across the masked titan's face.

"You never cease to surprise me," he told her.

Raven pushed herself up off the ground, relief washing over her as Robin's burning hand fell from her thigh.

"It's in my room. I'll go get it," she said, eager to escape to calm atmosphere of her bedroom.

She jogged down the stairs and back to her door, which slid open at her touch. The empath stepped inside, casting her eyes about for the book on martial arts she had bought for her leader. It was then that she noticed a slight chill in the room, and the absence of Jason's reclining form on her bed.

She walked in further and saw the window curtains fluttering, the hinged glass panes hanging wide open. Raven leaned out over the sill, looking down out toward the island's shore as if she expected to see a dark figure making its way across the moonlit beach.

There was no one she could see though, so she straightened up and shut the window firmly. As she turned around, a peculiar shape caught her eye. Something small and black sat on her nightstand, and she walked closer toward it. She could now see the delicate folds that made up an intricate origami bird;  
a raven.

X

X

**X sure can be one sweet & spicy man! ;) I gave you guys an extra-long chapter this time to make up for the long delay between updates. Please share your thoughts, hates, and loves, and I hope you all enjoy the long weekend!**


	13. Chapter 13: Laying Down the Ground Rules

"C'mon Raven, get in! The water's not that cold," the green changeling called from where he splashed out in the moonlit bay.

The sorceress remained firmly seated on the beach, having no desire to feel the goosebumps rise up on her flesh at the touch of the icy water.

"I'll stay here and watch, to make sure you don't drown," she answered back, her voice carrying a hint of sarcasm across the waves.

"Drown? I can turn into a whale, Rae!" Beast Boy puffed, before morphing into a dolphin and flipping his tail playfully in the air.

Raven rolled her eyes. "Show off," she muttered, shifting her legs more comfortably beneath her.

The amethyst-eyed girl absently traced magic symbols in the sand with her finger, symbols that she had read and memorized over the years. Her mind drifted, wandering to her teammates in turn.

Starfire seemed better. The past week had been a healing process for her, but she had finally shook off the sorrow that had loomed overhead. She was well on her way to discovering just how charming Speedy and Aqualad could be, particularly when they heard of her recent single status. Already a box of exquisite chocolates, handmade in Atlantis, had been delivered to their front door, as well as a fragrant bouquet of lilies and irises, signed with a drawing of a heart pierced by an arrow.  
Everyone on the team had thought the gifts were a bit over the top— except Star, who was absolutely smitten with the lovey presents the competing boys rained down on her.

Now, Robin had been—

Beast Boy waved his arm up and down, trying to catch the empath's attention.

"Hey, watch this!" he yelled before shape shifting into a green orca. BB swam downward beneath the waves, and for a moment, nothing was to be heard except the calm, gentle lapping against the shore. Then there was a sudden disturbance, and the boy-killer-whale shot out of the bay, twisting his huge form lithely in the air before landing belly-down with a loud _ker-smack_! A huge explosion of water sprayed out from beneath his massive body, and cool droplets showered down on Raven's face and soaked her cloak.

She wiped her eyes with the back of her arm, scowling more out of habit than real annoyance.

"That was incredible, Beast Boy," she deadpanned. "Keep up the practice and you could join OceanWorld as their featured trick-pony."

"You're just jealous," the changeling shot back, now paddling around as a sea otter.

Raven's mind returned to her previous thoughts.

The Teen Titan leader, always a strange and slightly obsessive individual, was nonetheless a dependable creature of habit— daily coffee, sleepless late nights, early morning training, and unbendable moral principles. Lately however he had been acting odder than normal, a little more prying into Raven's mind, a little more invading into her personal space.

She had an uneasy feeling that the Boy Wonder was perhaps seeing her as more than just a teammate and friend— she recalled how he had touched her leg a week ago, and a shiver ran down the sorceress's spine. As much as she loved Robin, the thought of loving him in _that_ way… well, that was territory her mind had never even considered exploring, and seemed far too foreign to begin exploring now.

Robin had recently taken up the routine of showing up on the roof a couple of nights each week, after the dark titan's evening meditation was complete. There they would sit and talk, sometimes about mundane topics such as villains and the city, sometimes about more personal subjects such as their pasts, and their visions for the future. Raven didn't mind this shared time with him, but it was the possibility that the masked hero might be perceiving these moments together as something more than what they were— that was what worried her.

Raven looked up from the repeating patterns she had drawn in the sand, intending to call out another teasing remark to her green friend. He was gone though, no longer splashing through the dark waves. Startled, the empath look up at the moon's position and wondered how much time had passed while she had been lost in thought.

A sudden rippling in the air behind her made her whip around, her eyes widening when she saw none other than Red-X staggering toward her. Raven leapt up, alarmed.

"Jesus, Jason! Is getting beat up your primary objective these days?" She rushed forward and wrapped an arm around his shoulder, letting him lean some of his weight onto her.

"Just for you babe," he winced as the empath helped him sit down on the beach.

Raven examined his wounds, speaking as she gently prodded his body.

"What happened to you?"

There seemed to be no serious damage, just superficial cuts, so she began healing them with speed.

X grimaced. "I think that pink witch slipped a tracking nanochip into my bloodstream the day you found me," he explained, inhaling deeply. "They've been following me all week— H.I.V.E.  
No matter how fast I run or how far I teleport, they always catch up. I haven't slept a full night in days."

This indeed seemed true. The thief had removed his mask and Raven could see the dark circles that ringed his stormy eyes, giving him a decidedly exhausted appearance.

He looked at her tiredly, his jet black hair drooping in front of his face. "I don't think I can keep this up much longer. Sooner or later, they're going to get the better of me and pack me off in an urn."

Raven bit her lip, concern etched on her unconventionally lovely face.

"Couldn't you go to someone like Dr. Chang?" she suggested, gripping his shoulder in her small but firm hand. "He could extract the nanochip for you."

Jason shook his head. "Chang would want something valuable stolen in return. At this moment, I don't have the liberty to be running jobs, with this damn tracking device in me and the H.I.V.E. hot on my trail."

The sorceress sat back on her heels, thinking for a moment.

_Is it worth it? Would Cy agree or expose us?_ she thought to herself.

Finally, against her better judgment, she made up her mind.

"Come with me," she said, pulling Jason up by the arm and leading him toward the garage.

x

She pushed the garage door and it swung open silently, its hinges always well-greased.

Raven stood in the entranceway, and as her eyes adjusted to the brightness of the workshop she could see that Cyborg was lying on his back, the upper half of his body concealed beneath the T-Car. An oil-smeared rag and an array of wrenches lay beside him, and he was humming to himself as he busily worked at the chassis of the vehicle.

"Cyborg," Raven spoke, her voice filling the cluttered but tidy space.

The half-robot paused his tinkering and rolled out from underneath the car, sitting up to look at her.

"What's up, Rae?" he asked, wiping his fingers on the soiled rag.

The sorceress cast her eyes around the room, unsure about what she had to say.

"I need your help," she confessed, trying to think ahead in her mind how exactly to phrase the next sentences.

Cyborg tossed the cloth aside, giving his signature laid-back smile.

"Sure," he said. "What do you need?"

"A friend of mine… has a tracking device implanted beneath his skin. He needs it out," she told him hesitatingly.

Cyborg raised an eyebrow, giving her an incredulous look.

"A _friend_ of yours?" he asked, heavy emphasis on the unlikely word.

Raven stepped to the side of the doorway, revealing the figure standing behind her. The half-robot's eyes widened as they traveled from the bottom of the red-and-black suit, up to the sheepish grin on the dark framed face, and then back down to the hand that clutched the tell-tale skull mask.

His wrench clattered loudly to the concrete floor and Cyborg swore, his words ringing through the room.

"Oh **_hell _**no."

x

Cyborg's face was a mask of disbelief and confusion.

"I want to talk to you outside, Raven," he said, his voice tightly controlled yet filled with warning.

He grabbed Red-X by the arm and yanked him further inside the garage. Cyborg then placed a firm hand on Raven's shoulder and lead her out into the cool night air, pulling the heavy steel door shut behind them with a loud _bang_.

He rounded on her, his calm façade slipping.

"Have you gone out of your damn mind, girl! What the hell are you doing, bringing that son of a bitch to our tower, asking me to help him?"

Cyborg outstretched his arms towards the sky in a gesture of frustration that seemed to ask, _Why me? _Suddenly, he stopped his furious pacing, frozen to the spot. His eyes widened with understanding as he stared at Raven's pale face, things beginning to fall into place.

"You don't mean to tell me… your room... it was _him_ this whole time?"

Raven swallowed, silent, afraid of what would come out of her mouth.

Cyborg passed his hand over his eyes in disbelief, shaking his head.

"God, Raven, what were you _thinking_?" he groaned, wishing there was something nearby he could punch hard.

"Cyborg, he's not what you think!" Raven pleaded, her voice straining.

"He's not what I think? I know he's a good-for-nothing criminal, I don't gotta think much more past that!" Cyborg cried exasperatedly.

"He's not like that in person! He's been nothing but kind toward me. He even saved my life." Raven took a shaking breath. "I care for him… and I trust him. Please have enough faith to trust me." Her eyes begged him to understand.

Cyborg uttered a tortured moan as he held his head, torn between what the right thing to do was.

"Rae…" he muttered, looking at her like she was messing with his circuits. Was she right? Was the criminal really okay, enough that he should help him?

The half-robot let out a great sigh.

"Alright," he agreed finally, his voice drained. "I'll help him out. But only because I trust you."

An uncharacteristic smile of relief split across Raven's face. She leapt toward her surrogate older brother, wrapping her arms around his thick metal neck.

"Thank you, Cyborg," she murmured gratefully.

Cyborg pulled back, looking her straight in the eye.

"If he messes up in the smallest way, if I ever find out he's done something to you, I will hunt him down, maim his body in the most painful and gruesome way imaginable, revive him, and then do it all over again," he warned, his tone deadly serious.

Raven's eyes widened slightly and she nodded. Together they walked back into the garage.

x

Jason looked down at his bandaged arm. It felt somewhat sore. The robot titan had been none too gentle removing the chip, but the thief nonethless was grateful that the H.I.V.E. would no longer be constantly pursuing him.

"I guess I owe you my thanks," Jason said, looking over from the metal stool that he sat on. He bit his tongue to keep himself from adding "Tin-Man".

Cyborg looked up from his workbench, placing gadgets back into their spots.

"Raven, would you mind getting me a glass of water?" he asked, his eyes narrowing as he continued fitting drills and screws into their proper slots and drawers.

The empath was not one to do other's bidding, but feeling indebted to her friend for his assistance, willingly complied and left to bring him something to drink.

As soon as she brushed out of the room, Cyborg turned on the thief, nailing him down with a hard stare. It was then that he repeated the same threat he had told Raven earlier, only with a version that was much more graphically explicit, detailing exactly what horrors X would endure if he ever put a toe out of line. By the time Raven returned, a cup of water in hand, Jason had paled considerably, and Cyborg looked much more satisfied with himself.

"He seems alright," the half-robot said to Raven as she handed him his drink. She raised an eyebrow quizzically.

"Have you guys been talking?" she asked.

Cyborg laughed, his eyes glinting dangerously. "You could say that," he replied.

Jason smiled weakly. "Just laying down some ground rules," he added, unconsciously touching his sore arm.

X

X

**Sorry for the wait, this chapter has been floating around half-completed for a while. Feeling sick though, so that makes me blegh. But I hope to have another chapter done before the new week begins. Thanks guys. :)**


	14. Chapter 14: Interlude

Red-X threw himself backward into a crouch. The titanium soles of his suit skidded against the concrete floor, leaving black marks in their wake. A crackling green starbolt flew over him, just barely singing the top of his head. He rolled to the left, temporarily shielded by a wooden crate, and a shattering crash resounded from where he had been hunched moments before. An enormous T-Rex tossed back its head in fury, a jarring roar unleashed from its jagged-tooth maw.

The criminal chuckled, his synthesized voice filling the abandoned warehouse.

"C'mon now kids, you're getting a little too predictable," he taunted, firing off a series of x-lasers at the alien princess and changeling. "Can't you at least try, for me?"

The green shifter quickly morphed into a mosquito, the shots firing past him, but the redhead was not as lucky— one of the searing lasers clipped her shoulder and she went down, spinning in a nosedive. A yell came from behind the thief, catching him off guard, and a heavy metal rod slammed down on his head. He stumbled, his vision blurring slightly, but whirled around in time to catch Robin's follow-up kick, a lethal aim at his stomach. Grabbing the hero's foot, X used his momentum to throw the masked titan backward, sending him flying into the demolished debris of crate.

"Try this on for size!" came the challenging shout of the menacing half-robot. He raised his arm and fired a missile from his computerized arsenal. It exploded into the opposite wall, sending a deadly avalanche of brick raining down onto Red-X.

Clouds of dust rose up from the settling rubble, and silence filled the cavernous warehouse.

Robin walked over to the collapsed pile, kicking aside a brick with his foot.

"Is he… unconscious?" Starfire asked tentatively, her hand gingerly covering her scalded shoulder.

"Not quite, cutie," a voice cut through the sooty air behind them.

The heroes spun around and found an entirely whole Red-X standing on a swinging metal catwalk, high above them. He clutched a Xenothium battery close to his chest and saluted mockingly.

"It was funs, kids. Next time, bring better toys."

He flipped off the platform, soaring toward a large window whose glass had been blown out long ago.

"Not so fast, X," a sharply articulate voice warned.

A huge black claw shot forward, grabbing the rogue midflight and tossing him to the floor. Red-X lay there unable to move for only an instant before springing up off his back, ignoring the bruised muscles that protested in agony.

"Don't get angry now, Sunshine," he teased, flinging a shuriken that was as sharp as it was red toward Raven's path.

She leapt aside and he lunged forward, darting past the frozen titans, his feet leaping nimbly over the pile of destroyed bricks as he made his getaway through the huge hole blasted in the wall.

"Titans, GO!" came Robin's furious shout, commanding his teammates to chase down the wanted fugitive.

xxxx

The titans sprinted through Jump's smoggy streets in dogged pursuit. Fleeting glimpses of a black cape whipping around corners were their only leads in following him; he was too far ahead for them to ever get a good view. As they rounded the final block of 12th Street and turned onto the much dingier Spit Row, Starfire flew up above them to survey the location of their prey.

"I can see a black figure!" she called down to her friends from her high vantage point.

"Keep moving, Titans!" Robin pressed urgently, as if any of the exhausted heroes needed reminding.

They ran past dilapidated buildings, former residences that had been condemned and shut down. The windows of many were smashed in, and the paint peeled off the exteriors like shedding skin, making them favorite habitations among the city's regular hard drug users.

Robin spearheaded the chase, followed closely by Beastboy morphed as a racing greyhound, then Starfire, Cyborg, and finally Raven bringing up the rear.

A dark hand shot out of a narrow and dank alleyway suddenly, grabbing Raven's arm and yanking her back into the cool, pooled shadows. The dark titan was taken off guard by the unexpected move, and she stumbled. An arm snaked its way round her waist and pulled her back against a firm chest, steadying her. Then an unseen hand reached up and tugged down the midnight blue hood, allowing deep-hued hair to spill out over her shoulders.

A pair of soft lips brushed across her ear, ticking it with small, warm gusts of breath.

Raven shivered.

"I like when you get all flushed from exertion like this," a husky voice murmured. His breath smelled of cinnamon.

He pulled her even tighter against him, and she could feel the warmth seeping out of his body, into hers. Her heart was racing in her chest, yet she felt oddly calm in spite of it.  
He bent his head lower over her shoulder, speaking so quietly that Raven had to strain to hear his next words.

"If you don't stop being so damned attractive when we fight, this sort of thing may end up happening regularly."

Without warning he spun her around to face him, backing her against the alley wall. An ungloved hand flew to her face, fingers caressing her cheek like velvet. The other gripped her own clammy hand, holding it tightly as if to anchor her there.

Raven closed her eyes just as he pressed his lips against hers, searing them. His mouth moved against hers gently, coaxingly, tender at first. It grew hungrier though, quickly becoming more demanding. He increased his pace with fervor, an eager and breathless desperation as if each kiss were the edge of life. Raven was only too willing to oblige, allowing him take charge. A feeling of lightheadedness had overcome her, and her lips felt like they were burning.

Nearby, a series of streetlights exploded loudly and shattered in splinters to the ground, one after another, leaving the whole block bathed in darkness. Her emotions were getting out of hand.

_Could this only be a dream_? she wondered, eyelids fluttering closed.

But no, he was here, his legs pressed against her own, their now-sweaty hands still clamped together, her fingers resting on his chest, his arm hooked around her neck.

A familiar beeping tune cut through the air.

Jason ignored it, refusing to avert his attention from the empath before him, but the noise steadily grew more insistent, demanding to be acknowledged.

He sighed. "You better answer that."

Raven reluctantly pulled out her communicator and flipped it open.

"What?" she asked flatly.

Beastboy's face filled the screen. "Where the heck are you Raven? One second you're behind us and the next you're gone. Are you in trouble?"

Raven glanced up for a moment, almost imperceptibly, at Jason's resigned face. She looked back down at Beastboy, impassive.

"No," she said. "I thought I could sense Red-X heading down a backstreet, so I followed. The lead's a dead end, though. I'll catch up with you shortly." She snapped the communicator shut.

The thief gave her a rueful smile, wishing their interlude hadn't been cut so short.

"I'll be seeing you," he promised, kissing her forehead and then her nose. His lips lingered there for a long pause before he finally pulled away, retreating slowly until he melted into the surrounding shadows.

A gust of wind blew through the alley and Raven shuddered. She felt unusually cold.

xxxx

Back at the Titan Tower, Raven fell onto her bed, exhilarated and tired, blood rushing through her veins. Her head crinkled against the pillow, and she sat up curiously to see a folded piece of paper resting there. She picked it up and smoothed it out, reading the tidy scrawl inside.

_Next Thursday, 7 P.M._

Raven couldn't help smiling to herself.

X

X

**Red-X should wear a sign that reads "Too Hot to Handle". That's just my opinion though. Thanks for reviewing guys!**


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